Sensex down around 300 points; RIL down 2 percent

The BSE Sensex falls around 300 points, erasing its gains for the year, while the Nifty is down around 90 points. Worries over an early end to the U.S. stimulus, India's record current account deficit and a depreciating rupee weigh.

Banks fall after RBI issued draft guidelines that would require banks to make higher provisions and increase risk weights on exposure to companies that have unhedged foreign-currency exposure.

State Bank of India falls 3.5 percent and HDFC Bank(HDBK.NS) is down 1.2 percent.

Stocks hurting Sensex - RIL and HDFC down 2 percent, HDFC Bank down 2 percent.

BSE realty index down 4.5 percent. Unitech falls 8.6 percent.

Essar Oil drops after 3-day 16.3% rally

On BSE, 2.23 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 6.69 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 67.80 and a low of Rs 64.50 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 46 on 31 August 2012. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 96.15 on 4 February 2013.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 2 July 2013, sliding 11.51% compared with the Sensex's 1.5% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 17.7% as against Sensex's 2.22% rise.
The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 1427.59 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
Shares of Essar Oil had rallied 16.33% in three trading sessions to settle at Rs 67.65 on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, from a recent low of Rs 58.15 on 27 June 2013.
Essar Oil reported net profit of Rs 200 crore in Q4 March 2013, as against net loss of Rs 515 crore in Q4 March 2012. Net sales rose 34.4% to Rs 23534 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
Essar Oil is a fully integrated oil & gas company of international scale with strong presence across the hydrocarbon value chain from exploration and production to refining and oil retail.

Bond yields creep higher on rupee’s weakness

Bond yields crept higher on Wednesday after the rupee weakened below 60 per dollar, not far from a record low of 60.76 hit last week, which in turn raised worries about continued foreign selling - a key concern for the funding of the current account deficit, also reducing the rate cut hopes from the Reserve Bank of India at its July policy review.

On the global front, US oil surged past the $100-per-barrel mark to hit a 14-month high on Wednesday as traders bet on a sharp drop in crude inventories in top consumer the United States, while tensions in the Middle East also cushioned prices.

Back home, the yields on 10-year 7.16% - 2013 bonds were trading 6 basis points higher at 7.52% from its previous close of 7.46% on Tuesday.

The benchmark five-year interest rate swaps were trading 9 basis points higher at 7.52% from its previous close of 7.43% on Tuesday.

The Government of India have announced the sale (re-issue) of four dated securities for Rs 15,000 crore on July 5, 2013 (i) “7.28 percent Government Stock 2019” for a notified amount of ` 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction; (ii) “7.16 percent Government Stock 2023” for a notified amount of ` 6,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction;(iii) “8.97 percent Government Stock 2030” for a notified amount of ` 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, and (iv) “8.30 percent Government Stock 2042” for a notified amount of ` 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction. The auctions will be conducted using uniform price method. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Fort, Mumbai on July 5, 2013 (Friday).

Bhel drops after 3-day 12.6% rally

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 254.95 points or 1.31% at 19,208.87.
On BSE, 1.74 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 3.93 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 181.90 and a low of Rs 176.20 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 162.10 on 27 June 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 272.45 on 5 October 2012.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 2 July 2013, sliding 8.13% compared with the Sensex's 1.5% fall. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 0.7% as against Sensex's 2.22% rise.
The large-cap state-run power equipment major has equity capital of Rs 489.52 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.
Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) had rallied 12.66% in three trading sessions to settle at Rs 183.70 on Tuesday, 2 July 2013, from a recent low of Rs 163.05 on 27 June 2013.

Bhel on 18 June 2013 said it has won an order worth Rs 450 crore for the Energy Efficient Renovation & Modernisation (EE R&M) of a 210 megawatts (MW) thermal unit in Maharashtra. The World Bank-funded contract has been placed on Bhel by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Corporation (MSPGCL). With this order, Bhel has made an entry into the Energy Efficient Renovation, Modernisation and Uprating business.
Bhel's net profit fell 4.2% to Rs 3237.54 crore on 2.2% decline in net sales to Rs 18850.16 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q4 March 2012.
Bhel is the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India in the energy related/infrastructure sector. The company caters to the core sectors including power, transmission, industry, transportation, renewable energy, oil & gas and defence.

Sensex plummets 248 points on global cues; Realty, metal stocks lose shine

The Sensex and the Nifty continued to trade down by over 1.2 per cent on bearish global cues.

At 1.11 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 248.18 points (1.28 per cent) at 19,215.64 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 77.05 points (1.32 per cent) at 5,780.50.

Scrips from sectors such as banks realty and metal were the worst-hit on a day when the rupee was also under pressure quoting above the Rs 60 mark to a dollar.

Barring FMCG, all other BSE sectoral indices were trading in the red.

Among them, realty and metal indices were the worst-hit and were down 4.12 per cent and 3.03 per cent, respectively, followed by consumer durables 2.83 per cent and PSU 2.61 per cent. FMCG index was up 0.42 per cent.

Among 30-share Sensex, Sterlite (down 4.36 per cent), Tata Power (-4.32 per cent), SBI (-4.16 per cent), Tata Steel (-3.95 per cent) and Hindalco (-3.27 per cent) were the top five laggards.

On the other hand, ITC (up 0.35 per cent), HUL (+0.31 per cent), Tata Motors (+0.28 per cent) and Cipla (+0.09 per cent) were the only gainers.

The Nifty opened with a gap down of 46 points at 5,812, while the Sensex opened with a gap down of 117 points at 19,347.

European stocks fell as crude oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel for the first time since September and political uncertainty escalated in Egypt and Portugal. Asian shares and US index futures also declined.

Stoxx 50 fell 48.08 points or 1.85 per cent to 2,555.12, FTSE 100 shed 73.72 points or 1.17 per cent to 6,230.22 and DAX declined 124.44 points or 1.57 per cent to 7,786.33.

Crude oil prices were up on growing concerns that the political crisis in Egypt could affect the rest of West Asia and disrupt world crude supplies.

Investors were also worried over the scaling back of massive bond-buying programme by the US Federal Reserve as the US economy started showing signs of recovery.

Market sentiment was dampened as China's services sector sagged to its weakest pace in nine months in June, adding to signs of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Godawari Power's 50 MW solar thermal power plant starts commercial operations

Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd has informed BSE that the 50 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant set up by the Company’s wholly owned Subsidiary viz., Godawari Green Energy Limited at Village Nokh, Dist: Jaisalmer, in the State of Rajasthan has started commercial operations with effect from June 19, 2013. The Commissioning Certificate of Project has been issued by Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited vide its letter dated July 02, 2013.Further, the Company's 50 MW Solar Thermal Power is the India’s first solar thermal power plant which started commercial operations amongst the seven Solar Thermal Power Projects awarded under Phase - I of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNSM) of Government of India.

IOC offer for sale likely next month, stock tanks 4%

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) dropped more than 4 percent in late morning trade Wednesday on the news that its offer for sale (OFS) is likely to be held next month, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that finance ministry is in the process of appointing bankers for the oil retailer's OFS.

The government holds 78.92 percent stake in the company while ONGC has 8.77 percent stake and LIC holds 2.86 percent as of March 2013.

This may be the third OFS after MMTC and Hindustan Copper . In June, the government raised Rs 568 crore by selling 9.33 percent stake in MMTC. The 3.48 crore shares offer for sale of Hindustan Copper opened today , through which the government aimed to raise around Rs 240-250 crore.

At 11:58 hours IST, Indian Oil Corporation shares down -4.14 percent to Rs 226.30 on the BSE

Hindustan Copper share sale commences on bourses; shares fall 3%

Shares of Hindustan Copper today fell as much as 3% in the morning trade as the government's 4.01% share sale commenced on bourses.


The scrip touched a low of Rs 70.70 in the opening trade, 2.68% lower than previous close on the BSE.

After the close of market hours yesterday, a government panel had cleared the 4.01% stake sale in Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) at a base price of Rs 70 a share.

The base price was at a discount of 3.65% over the closing price of Rs 72.65 apiece.

On the National Stock Exchange, HCL scrip hit a low of Rs 70.65, down 2.35% over previous close.

Over three lakh shares of HCL changed hands on both BSE and NSE in the early hours of trade today.

The government holds 94.01% stake in HCL. The stake sale would make the company compliant to the minimum 10% public holding norm of market regulator Sebi.

The sale of 4.01% stake, or over 3.71 crore shares, through offer for sale (OFS) route at Rs 70 per share will fetch around Rs 260 crore to the exchequer.

Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, Kotak Securities, SBICAP Securities and UBS Securities India are acting as brokers for the share sale.

The government had in November last year sold 5.58% stake in HCL through OFS route at an average price of Rs 156.56 apiece.

The stake sale fetched Rs 808 crore to the exchequer.

In September, 2012, the Cabinet had approved 9.5% stake sale of HCL. The government had then decided to go ahead with only one tranche of the issue and get a good price from the auction.

HCL is the second PSU to hit the markets in the current fiscal. Last month, the government had raised Rs 568 crore through divesting 9.33% stake in MMTC.

The government plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in 2013-14.

Services growth falters as new business weakest in two years

Indian services firms lost momentum in June as new business trickled in at the slowest pace in nearly two years, dashing hopes of a sustained pick-up in economic growth, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The HSBC Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.7 in June from May's three-month high of 53.6, in a sign that Asia's third-largest economy is still struggling to climb out of a quagmire of low growth and high inflation.

Although the index has steadily held above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for nearly two years, it teetered on the brink in April before gathering pace in May.

But the latest data shows that any cheer over May's strong performance may have been premature.

"Service sector activity grew at a slower clip as new business flows moderated, which made businesses less optimistic about the year ahead," said Leif Eskesen, a chief economist at HSBC.

With domestic economic growth stuck at a decade low and prospects of a strong global recovery still uncertain, overall demand for Indian services took a hit in June.

A similar survey for China showed lacklustre services activity in June with new orders growing at their weakest pace in more than four years, providing further evidence that the world's second-largest economy was losing momentum.

A sub-index for the Indian PMI that measures new business fell to a 20-month low of 51.9 in June from 53.2 in May, and consequently firms were less optimistic about the future.

To make matters worse, the Indian rupee fell to a record low against the US dollar last month and this gave rise to inflationary pressures, the HSBC-Markit survey showed.

"Notwithstanding the slowdown, inflation readings firmed on the back of higher labour and raw material prices, with the depreciation of the rupee also cited as a factor," HSBC's Eskesen said.

A sister survey published by HSBC on Monday showed similar downbeat trends among Indian factories, with order books shrinking for the first time in over four years as price pressures started to pick up.

Tata Power achieves financial closure for wind farm Project

Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company announced the successful financial closure for its 95 MW Tsitsikamma Wind Farm Project in South Africa Joint Venture Company with Exxaro, Cennergi (Pty.) Ltd. The Company had recently also announced the successful financial closure of its 135 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm Project in South Africa.
The Company was selected as the ’preferred bidder’ for 230 MW wind farms- 135 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm Project and the 95 MW Tsitsikamma Wind Farm Project by the Department of Energy, Government of South Africa in 2012.
Cennergi has successfully tied up the entire debt requirement through Nedbank. The signing of financing agreements was completed on June 5th, 2013. The Company also completed pre-disbursement conditions under the financing agreements for availing Interim Disbursement and received the first loan disbursement on June 28th, 2013. The project of approximately Rand 2905 million is being funded through a debt equity mix of 75:25. The project financing comprises of equity of Rand 726 million and Rand Term Loans of 2179 million.
With this, the Company attained financial closure of both its wind projects, 95 MW Tsitsikamma Wind Farm Project and 135 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm Project. Tata Power announced the successful financial closure for its 135 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm Project through its South African Joint Venture Company with Exxaro, Cennergi (Pty.) Ltd. in the month of June 2013.
The wind projects will be located in Eastern Cape, South Africa and are expected to achieve commercial operations in 2016. Power Purchase Agreements and Implementation Agreements for these projects were signed with Eskom and Department of Energy, Government of South Africa respectively on May 9th, 2013.
Cennergi is 50:50 Joint Venture between South Africa's Exxaro Resources Limited (“Exxaro”) and The Tata Power Company Limited (“Tata Power”).
Speaking on the announcement, Mr. Anil Sardana, Chairman Cennergi & Managing Director, Tata Power, stated, “We are pleased to complete the financial closures for both our Wind Projects in South Africa. The signing of the financing agreements is a significant milestone for the project, and we take this opportunity to thank our investors who have once again shown faith in Tata Power”.
Cennergi, based in South Africa, focuses on the investigation of feasibility, development, ownership, operation, maintenance, acquisition, and management of electricity generation projects in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. The initial project pipeline focuses on renewable energy projects in Southern Africa and Cennergi’s strategy is to create a balanced portfolio of generation assets.
Cennergi aims to be the leading cleaner energy independent power producer (IPP) in Southern Africa, serving an expanding energy market. The Company’s diverse project portfolio confirms its commitment to both people and planet.

Hindustan Copper offer for sale opens, shares fall 2.5%

Shares of state-owned Hindustan Copper fell 2.5 percent in morning trade Wednesday as the offer for sale (OFS) opens for subscription today. The floor price for the issue is fixed at Rs 70 apiece that is a discount of 3.6 percent to Tuesday's closing price.

The government holds 94.01 percent stake in Hind Copper (HCL).

The stale sale would make the company complaint to the minimum 10 percent public holding norm of market regulator Sebi. The sale of 4.01 percent stake or over 3.48 crore shares through offer for sale (OFS) route could fetch around Rs 240-250 crore to the exchequer,  CNBC-TV18 sources said.

Earlier in November 2012, the government had sold 5.58 percent stake in Hind Copper through OFS route at an average price of Rs. 156.56 apiece.

The stake sale fetched Rs 808 crore to the exchequer.HCL is the second PSU to hit the market in the current fiscal. Earlier this month, the government had raised Rs 568 crore through divesting 9.33 percent stake in MMTC . The government plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in 2013-14.

At 09:45 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 70.85, down 2.48 percent on the BSE.

Reliance Digital plans to sell 80% stake to Sun TV

Reports said that the deal may be valued at around Rs 2,500 crore.
Reliance Digital TV, the fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications is planning to sell over 80%stake to Sun TV, controlled by Kalanithi Maran, report was quoted as saying.
Reports said that the deal may be valued at around Rs 2,500 crore.
Under the agreement, Reliance will get a one-time cash payment in return for infrastructure and assets of Reliance DTH, while Sun TV will get full management control over the company, report was quoted as saying.
The due diligence for the deal has already been completed.

Telecom commission approves 100% FDI in telecom service

Telecom Commission, an inter-ministerial body, on Tuesday approved to hike foreign direct investment limit for telecom sector to 100 percent from 74 percent currently. Sources informed CNBC-TV18 that following the news, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is likely to soon move a cabinet note for 100 percent FDI in telecom services.

At present, FDI limit in the sector is 74 percent and 49 percent can be invested through automatic route. But to take it upto 74 percent, Foreign Investment Permission Board (FIPB) nod is required. In case 100 percent FDI is approved, 49 percent investment would still be allowed through automatic route.

Also read: TRAI to make suggestions for spectrum reserve price: Sibal

The idea behind increasing FDI limit in telecom sector is to help industry get fresh funds to lower financial burden. Reacting to the news of increase in FDI limit KPMG said that 100 percent FDI will help telecom companies to bring down debts. However the research firm does not see improvement in valuation of telecom companies on this regard.

Ernst & Young believes that the move will open door for new companies to enter the Indian market. Telecom major Reliance Communication said that the company supported government's move which will enhance value for all stakeholders.

Romal Shetty from KPMG believes that hiking FDI to 100% in telecom will bring investment but not necessarily cure all problems of the industry.

Telenor too welcomed government’s move and said that increase in FDI limits will help operators to attract more investment. Sistema Shyam which has been struggling to grow its foothold in the country after its licenses got cancelled said that this was a much needed policy decision and hailed it as pro industry and pro-consumer move. The largest telecom operator of the country Bharti Airtel  too welcomed government's move.

Sensex, Nifty decline in early trade

At 9:16am (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 19289, down 174 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 19374 and a day's low of 19274. It opened at 19347.
The NSE Nifty was quoting at 5,806, down 51 points over the previous close. It earlier touched a day’s high of 5,815 and a day’s low of 5802. It opened at 5,811.
Infosys, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Gail India are among gainers in Sensex and Nifty.
RIL, Wipro, ONGC, Coal India, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tata Power, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti,  Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, are among losers in Sensex and Nifty.
The BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid- Cap index was trading at 0.05% and 1%.
Teck, IT indices are only the gainers.
FMCG, Metal,  PSU, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Realty, Bankex,  Oil and gas, Power indices are the losers.
The RBI on Tuesday said it would introduce incremental provisioning and capital requirements for bank exposure to corporates with unhedged foreign currency exposure.

Indices opens in red

Reforms may be ringing in especially after the Telecom Commission (TC) approved the proposal to raise the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector to 100% from the current 74%. Once ratified, the new policy will allow foreign telecom operators to buy out existing Indian partners, as they will no longer need to have a minority shareholding in the country.

But the market attention globally is now on the tensions in Egypt which has sent oil prices near $100 a barrel. Fear is that tensions could spread in other parts of the Middle East. Egypt's military leaders declared the army "will sacrifice our blood" to defend the country, hours after President Mohamed Morsy refused to bow to a military ultimatum.

We are staring at a weak to flat start for the day. US indices closed weak ahead of non-farm payrolls report on Friday. On Thursday US markets are closed for Independence Day. The Dow  fell 0.28% while Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost marginally. The Nasdaq too was down a tad. Asian markets are also mimicking the US. Japan's Nikkei is half a percent lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.2%. South Korea's Kospi is marginally down while China's Shanghai index has lost over a percent.

ECB on Tuesday said that the euro's share among the currency reserves held globally by central banks fell to 23.9% in 2012 from 25.1% the previous year.

Financial Service Secretary Rajiv Takru reiterated FM's words that there is no cap on the number of new banks that will come up.

To give wings to the idea of Air Asia flying destinations in India, Chairman Emeritus Tata Group Ratan Tata and AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes on Tuesday met Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and updated him of the latest appointments and other developments in the proposed airline.

The weakening rupee has seen FIIs fleeing the debt market. Outflows YTD stood at $1.8 billion.

There is weekly meeting of Union Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs this evening.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram will interact with heads of public sector banks today.

HIND COPPER Offer for sale to sell 37.1 mn government shares of Hindustan Copper. The govt has fixed the floor price of the issue at 70 rupees per share.

CCL Products India will consider stock split today.  Steel Exchange India to mull Simhadri Power will mull merger with co. Tamilnadu Jai Bharath Mills will consider loan conversion.